


Porcelain Dolls

by postapocalyptic_cryptic



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, CC-1010 | Fox Needs A Hug, CC-1010 | Fox Whump, CT-7567 | Rex Needs a Hug, CT-7567 | Rex is Trying His Best, Dissociation, Forgiveness, Gen, Guilt, Hopeful Ending, Hurt Some Comfort, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Semiverbal Character, Trauma, Victim Blaming, again it's of a sort, as in, he wasn't in full control of himself, i always write fox as lowkey autistic and he's nonverbal right now, like not a lot at all, or the beginnings thereof, rex and fox are both victims but given what we can assume about fox's circumstances, which he mentions but not in conjunction with autism
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-23
Updated: 2021-02-23
Packaged: 2021-03-13 12:01:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 823
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29651013
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/postapocalyptic_cryptic/pseuds/postapocalyptic_cryptic
Summary: “Stop talking to him,” Cody says. “You’re just stressing him out.”Hah. Fox is always stressed.“Oh.” A beat. “When does this stop?”There’s a web of cracks in the plastoid case on the third shelf in front of Fox.“Rex, I don’t know. He’s not well right now. Physically or mentally.”Some time after Fives's death, Fox reaches a breaking point. He goes away for a while. Rex and Cody talk in the meantime.
Relationships: CC-2224 | Cody & CT-7567 | Rex
Comments: 15
Kudos: 104





	Porcelain Dolls

**Author's Note:**

> I want to make it very clear that I love Rex with all my heart and am not making him out to be the bad guy here. Rex and Fox are in a really shitty situation and they haven't even realized the full extent of the shittiness yet. However, from Fox's point of view, Rex is going to come off as scary.

The world hums on around Fox, unaware (or perhaps uncaring) of the way he’s stuck in the back of his head, watching idly as his hands shred the remnants of a piece of flimsy and his siblings talk over his head. 

“...Just completely fell out of the conversation. He was still, like, responding and stuff, but he was totally different. Like, a different personality.” 

“He’s dissociating. It’ll stop eventually, but that’s why he’s not reacting. Here, look. Fox?” 

At the sound of his name, Fox does his best to turn his head. His eyes are sort of… stuck, though, and the best he can do is twitch a bit. “Hmm?” Sound weighs heavy on his tongue. 

“Can you hear me?” 

“Yeah.” 

Fox is tired. He wants time alone in his head. His eyes unfocus.  _ You have work to do, CC-1010. Get moving.  _ Can’t.  _ Do it.  _ It’s just Cody, it’s alright, he’s not going to hurt you.  _ Fives.  _ He’s not going to hurt you for not talking. 

“Can you talk right now?” 

Fox shrugs. He meant to say yes, but he’s forgetting how to string words together. No, he can do this. He can hear the word in his head, so he can say it. “I th… Sih…” 

“Okay, Fox, it’s okay. You don’t have to talk.” 

Thank you. 

“Why is he doing that?” Who is that? Rex? No, Rex wouldn’t… Rex wouldn’t come in the same room as him. Rex doesn’t like him… why?  _ You did something horrible.  _ What?  _ It was when you- _

Nononono don’t remember bad bad bad  **stop.**

“I don’t know,  _ vod.  _ I’ve never seen him do this before.”

_ Happens all the time.  _

“It might be a trauma response. What were you doing before you brought him here?”

“We were… You know, we were talking.” Maybe-Rex makes a sound like he’s shuffling his boots. “About… the warehouse. That. Why, why, what happened.” 

“It’s a trauma response, then.” 

_ Fives. Remember now. Now forget. Fives. Remember. Forget. Stun/kill.  _

Shut up. 

_ Fives.  _

Stop. 

“Fox?” It’s Rex talking to him now. 

“Stop talking to him,” Cody says. “You’re just stressing him out.” 

Hah. Fox is always stressed. 

“Oh.” A beat. “When does this stop?” 

There’s a web of cracks in the plastoid case on the third shelf in front of Fox. 

“Rex, I don’t know. He’s not well right now. Physically or mentally.”

“Should I call Kix?” 

“Is Kix going to be decent?”

One of the cracks is wider than the rest. 

“Probably.”

Maybe it’ll be the first to break. 

Cody sighs. “Call him and let me talk to him.” 

Kix grabs his chin and pulls Fox’s head up to look at him. When did he get here? Fox tries to ask as much, but the look on Kix’s face tells him he might have mispronounced a few of the words. 

“...Commander. Can you hear me?”

Fox nods. He’s afraid it won’t be enough to be visible, but Kix nods back. 

“Good. You left us for a little while. Welcome back.” 

Fox doesn’t respond. Cody and Rex are standing behind Kix, leaning against the wall of the little side room they’re in. Rex dragged him here after…?

Something. After something. 

_ Fives.  _

Shut up. 

“Commander?”

Oh.

“Commander, I’m going to run a scan on you. It won’t feel like anything, but I need you to sit up as straight as you can.” 

Fox tries his best. He’s not wearing his helmet, apparently, because he feels every bit of it when he cracks his head off the wall behind him. Kix puts a hand on his shoulder. It feels like he’s touching a doll. 

“Easy, Commander. Hold still while I take the scan.” There’s a silent moment in which Fox becomes too tired to keep his eyes open.  _ “Shit.”  _

“What?” Cody demands. 

Kix steps back. Fox can feel the heat leave his immediate vicinity. He doesn’t bother opening his eyes. 

“He’s in really bad shape, Commander. I don’t think it’s why he’s dissociating, but it’s certainly not helping.”

“What do you mean, ‘bad shape?’”

“He’s dehydrated and exhausted and stressed and he’s got a shit ton of minor, untreated injuries going back  _ months.”  _

Fox laughs. It must be out loud, because there’s a moment of silence. 

“Fucking hell.” Rex follows this statement with a punch to the wall hard enough to send Fox’s head ringing like church bells. He flinches  _ hard.  _ “Fucking  _ hell.”  _

“How would you like to proceed, Kix?” Cody asks. 

“Ideally? I want to steal him away from Coruscant and never give him back. Realistically, I want you to stay here with him while I get a gurney. He’ll do some time in the medbay and I’ll fix what I can.” There’s the sound of Kix’s scanner powering down. “Commander Fox, feel free to catch up on some sleep while you wait for me.”

Sleep’s easy.  _ Not that you deserve it.  _ No, but it’s easy. Never far away. Fox goes under quick and deep. 

**Author's Note:**

> Hoo boy I am having the time of my life beating the shit out of Fox. There is so much more of this sort of thing in my drafts rn you have no idea what you're in for.  
> Anyways, I'm still on tumblr @postapocalyptic-cryptic-fic and @chiafett and I still love you all. May the Force be with you!


End file.
